Update from the Heights

Things around here are going well and we are getting deep in the decision making phase of things as our big move gets closer. First off I get to announce our big news: Baby #3 is on it's way!! I am due at the end of August and we are very excited! So our current decision is when to buy a mini van. We’ve decided exactly what we want but there are many pros and cons to buying it now verses waiting until San Diego. Originally we’d planned to wait but then Tom’s car didn’t pass the inspection for registration so that has pushed us to reconsider things a bit. We found a report and learned it will be cheaper to buy here and it sure would be great to have for the cross country drive but on the flip side it would nice not to put all those miles on it, if we only have our Elantra then we don’t have to stress about driving two cars cross country, and if we can live with one car for a while we save some money. But then again, Tom is a Stinchfield and once he knows what he wants it becomes impossible to live without! He is actually driving to be very rational about this and hopefully we’ll come to the right decision. We are also trying to work whether to move ourselves or to let the Navy do it in hopes of making some money. We really want to find out how much money we could make doing it but can’t find anyone with the answer. Once we figure that out we can move forward with those plans!

March is a busy month for us. My younger brother Matt, his wife and their new baby are coming for spring break the 16th-21st. My mom is flying out then as well. Tom has his big and final boards at the end of the month!!! Yikes!!!

The last week has finally brought me relief from the nausea and sickness and it feels great to feel “good” again. I am now 16 weeks along. I have another check up this week and then on the 19th we have our ultrasound to find out what we are having!! We can’t wait!
Well I have a bunch of things that I have been meaning to write down so that I won’t forget them so I decided to include them in the blogg. It’s just a little update on the kids!

DANICA:
Danica is obviously getting older by the day and doing something new every day which is tons of fun. She is nearly 15 months old and still only has her two bottom teeth and weighs about 18 lbs. and wears a size 2 shoe! She's tiny! Her "immense" vocabulary includes the following words, in the order she has said them:
1. uh-oh, her first word and favorite. It started as just the syllable sounds but is now clearly the word.
2. dadda
3. momma
4. ow, she learned that from our neighbor and says it when she bumps her head and stuff
5. wow, she says it when she’s excited. The other day Hayden came running from his room saying he just heard Danica say her first word! We asked what she said and he said she said “wow!” Hayden was so proud of her he kept laughing and hugging her.

I have been trying sign language with her since about 7 months old but it’s never really caught on. Currently the only things she’ll do is say “more” when she wants a drink (but not when she wants more food) and she has a little sign for “all done.” We’ve been working on animal sounds but she just gets really happy and smiles at me all the time instead of trying to mimic me. She’s definitely happy to just be an observer all the time!

Her favorite song is “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and I use it all the time to calm her down or to make her hold still for a diaper change or something. Now when I start to sing it she puts her hands together and tries to make a spider! Also, when I start singing the wheels on the bus she will roll her hands together.

When we go public places for kids they always have hand sanitizer in dispensers on the wall. I use them all the time and now Danica walks up to them, puts her hands under and doesn’t get anything on them but she starts rubbing them together because that is what she sees me doing! She does this with the soap in our bathroom as well!

She LOVES her Baby Einstein movies and comes running and starts clapping as soon as she hears the intro music! Yesterday she was watching one with a tiger in it and she start shouting with excitement.

HAYDEN:
Hayden does hilarious things every few minutes, I could never remember them all and I need a notebook with me at all times. Here are few that come to mind.
The other day we were driving down town and he said “Look at that beautiful chalk drawing on the wall! I wonder how a kid got up there to do that!” Of course it was actually spray painted graffiti!!

The family is divided into teams, a boys team and girls team. Hayden just couldn’t stand to be without Danica so he has stolen her back to be on his team. He says things like “Mom you can’t come in my tent, only Danica can because she’s on my team.” “Danica has to watch this show with me because she’s on my team!”

On Saturday morning the kids got up really early and I was kind of cranky and when Danica started to cry about Hayden giving her a hug I said “Come on, you act like it’s the end of the world!” Well, now Hayden says that about her all the time. When she fusses about something he likes to say “Danica thinks it’s the end of the world!”
Hayden is doing much better at church and doesn’t complain as much as before. But he is still a bit disruptive and rowdy during sharing time. However, yesterday I could hear him back there getting very upset with another boy, he kept saying “Shhhhh, be quiet I am trying to listen!”

Hayden has learned how to get what he wants by being sappy and sweet. When he wants me to watch a movie with him he always says “Mom I want to cuddle with you, please!!!” One day it was “Mom, I want to cuddle with you and read the scriptures please!” How do I say no to that??!! When he wants a treat or something he will do the big smile and a long “pleeeeease!” It is manipulative but it sure beats a tantrum!
Well, that’s all for now! Have a great week!
Tracey